t r u t h o u t Cindy Sheehan: Hypocrites and Liars

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FOCUS | Cindy Sheehan: Hypocrites and Liars

Sat, 20 Aug 2005 11:36:17 -0700

 

 

 

FOCUS | Cindy Sheehan: Hypocrites and Liars

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082005X.shtml

 

Hypocrites and Liars

By Cindy Sheehan

t r u t h o u t | Letter

 

Saturday 20 August 2005

 

The media are wrong. The people who have come out to Camp Casey to

help coordinate the press and events with me are not putting words in

my mouth, they are taking words out of my mouth. I have been known for

sometime as a person who speaks the truth and speaks it strongly. I

have always called a liar a liar and a hypocrite a hypocrite. Now I am

urged to use softer language to appeal to a wider audience. Why do my

friends at Camp Casey think they are there? Why did such a big

movement occur from such a small action on August 6, 2005?

 

I haven't had much time to analyze the Camp Casey phenomena. I

just read that I gave 250 interviews in less than a week's time. I

believe it. I would go to bed with a raw throat every night. I got

pretty tired of answering some questions, like: " What do you want to

say to the President? " and " Do you really think he will meet with

you? " However, since my mom has been sick I have had a chance to step

back and ponder the flood gates that I opened in Crawford, Tx.

 

I just read an article posted today on LewRockwell.com by artist

Robert Shetterly who painted my portrait. The article reminded me of

something I said at the Veteran's for Peace Convention the night

before I set out to Bush's ranch in my probable futile quest for the

truth. This is what I said:

 

I got an email the other day and it said, " Cindy if you didn't use

so much profanity ... there's people on the fence that get offended.

 

And you know what I said? " You know what? You know what, god damn

it? How in the world is anybody still sitting on that fence?

 

If you fall on the side that is pro-George and pro-war, you get

your ass over to Iraq, and take the place of somebody who wants to

come home. And if you fall on the side that is against this war and

against George Bush, stand up and speak out.

 

This is what the Camp Casey miracle is all about. American

citizens who oppose the war but never had a conduit for their disgust

and dismay are dropping everything and traveling to Crawford to stand

in solidarity with us who have made a commitment to sit outside of

George's ranch for the duration of the miserable Texan August. If they

can't come to Texas, they are attending vigils, writing letters to

their elected officials and to their local newspapers; they are

setting up Camp Casey branches in their hometowns; they are sending

flowers, cards, letters, gifts, and donations here to us at Camp

Casey. We are so grateful for all of the support, but I think

pro-peace Americans are grateful for something to do, finally.

 

One thing I haven't noticed or become aware of though is an

increased number of pro-war, pro-Bush people on the other side of the

fence enlisting to go and fight George Bush's war for imperialism and

insatiable greed. The pro-peace side has gotten off their apathetic

butts to be warriors for peace and justice. Where are the pro-war

people? Everyday at Camp Casey we have a couple of anti-peace people

on the other side of the road holding up signs that remind me that

" Freedom isn't Free " but I don't see them putting their money where

their mouths are. I don't think they are willing to pay even a small

down payment for freedom by sacrificing their own blood or the flesh

of their children. I still challenge them to go to Iraq and let

another soldier come home. Perhaps a soldier that is on his/her third

tour of duty, or one that has been stop-lossed after serving his/her

country nobly and selflessly, only to be held hostage in Iraq by power

mad hypocrites who have a long history of avoiding putting their own

skin in the game.

 

Contrary to what the main stream media thinks, I did not just fall

off a pumpkin truck in Crawford, Tx. on that scorchingly hot day two

weeks ago. I have been writing, speaking, testifying in front of

Congressional committees, lobbying Congress, and doing interviews for

over a year now. I have been pretty well known in the progressive,

peace community and I had many, many supporters before I even left

California. The people who supported me did so because they know that

I uncompromisingly tell the truth about this war. I have stood up and

said: " My son died for NOTHING, and George Bush and his evil cabal and

their reckless policies killed him. My son was sent to fight in a war

that had no basis in reality and was killed for it. " I have never said

" pretty please " or " thank you. " I have never said anything wishy-washy

like he uses " Patriotic Rhetoric. " I say my son died for LIES. George

Bush LIED to us and he knew he was LYING. The Downing Street Memos

dated 23 July, 2002 prove that he knew that Saddam didn't have WMD's

or any ties to Al Qaeda. I believe that George lied and he knew he was

lying. He didn't use patriotic rhetoric. He lied and made us afraid of

ghosts that weren't there. Now he is using patriotic rhetoric to keep

the US military presence in Iraq: Patriotic rhetoric that is based on

greed and nothing else.

 

Now I am being vilified and dragged through the mud by the

righties and so-called " fair and balanced " main stream media who are

afraid of the truth and can't face someone who tells it by telling any

truth of their own. Now they have to twist, distort, lie, and

scrutinize anything I have ever said when they never scrutinize

anything that George Bush said or is saying. Instead of asking George

or Scotty McClellan if he will meet with me, why aren't they asking

the questions they should have been asking all along: " Why are our

young people fighting, dying, and killing in Iraq? What is this noble

cause you are sending our young people to Iraq for? What do you hope

to accomplish there? Why did you tell us there were WMD's and ties to

Al Qaeda when you knew there weren't? Why did you lie to us? Why did

you lie to the American people? Why did you lie to the world? Why are

our nation's children still in harm's way and dying everyday when we

all know you lied? Why do you continually say we have to " complete the

mission " when you know damn well you have no idea what that mission is

and you can change it at will like you change your cowboy shirts? "

 

Camp Casey has grown and prospered and survived all attacks and

challenges because America is sick and tired of liars and hypocrites

and we want the answers to the tough questions that I was the first to

dare ask. THIS is George Bush's accountability moment and he is

failing ... miserably. George Bush and his advisers seriously

" misunderestimated " me when they thought they could intimidate me into

leaving before I had the answers, or before the end of August. I can

take anything they throw at me, or Camp Casey. If it shortens the war

by a minute or saves one life, it is worth it. I think they seriously

" misunderestimated " all mothers. I wonder if any of them had authentic

mother-child relationships and if they are surprised that there are so

many mothers in this country who are bear-like when it comes to

wanting the truth and who want to make meaning of their child's

needless and seemingly meaningless deaths?

 

The Camp Casey movement will not die until we have a genuine

accounting of the truth and until our troops are brought home. Get

used to it George, we are not going away.

 

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Go directly to our coverage of Cindy Sheehan's courageous stand in

Crawford, Texas.

http://truthout.org/cindy.shtml